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22.7.13

43rd Annual World Championship Dainty Contest

Have you ever
wanted to play on old German street game requiring only a whittled broom stick and eat a bologna sandwich while nuns watch enthusiastically with the sounds of a rag time
band playing in the background? Look no
further than Schnitzelburg.

On the
last Monday on July, a block of Hoertz Street, otherwise known as George Hauck
Way, closes down for the annual World Championship Dainty Contest.

George Hauck / Photo by Zahra Farah (Courier Journal)

Revived
in 1971 by George Hauck and Charlie Vettiner, the Dainty Contest celebrates its
43rd year this July. The
games are played next to Hauck’s Handy Store, a staple in the Schnitzelburg
neighborhood since 1912. The namesake of
the store, George Hauck, will be 93 years old at this year’s Dainty Contest.

Dainty
is a game that originated by German immigrants in 1800. The game requires a 5” stick and a 3’ stick,
which can be cheaply made from an old broom stick with the bristles
removed. The 5” stick, known as the
dainty, is placed on the ground (usually with cone shaped ends) and the 3’
stick is used to hit the dainty. The
object is to get tap the dainty, making it airborne, hit it like a baseball,
and try to get the dainty the furthest, all with one hand behind your back. Contestants get three strikes (one strike =
any contact between both sticks) and then they’re out.

The "dainty"

Though
it may sound simple, it isn’t. Most
people don’t even get the dainty more than a couple of feet, let alone a few
inches. However, the record was broken
last year by Herb Rowe with a whopping 149 feet and seven inches, beating the previous
record that was set in 1981! The winner
gets a trophy and bragging rights, while the person who hit the dainty the
shortest goes home with a basket of lemons.
Oh, there is a strange catch – you must be 45 or older to play.

But the event isn’t just for adults over 45. Hoertz and Goss will be littered with a mix
of people on the upcoming July evening, from little tikes enjoying cotton candy
to hipsters having some cool brews to grown-ups playing the lotto out of brightly
lit Kentucky Lottery mobiles.

After
the initial contest there will be a one-legged race for the kids and a band, so
you might want to bring your dancing shoes.

You can
pick up a Dainty meal – a bologna
sandwich, a bag of chips and a whole dill pickle - for the unbelievably low
price of $2.00! Add to this a copious
amount of beer and ice cold soft drinks and it’s a party!

Event organizer Gary Allen MC-ing the event

The 43rd
World Championship Dainty Contest will be played on Monday, July 29th
beginning at 5:45.

According
to the Courier Journal, “City and state officials expected to attend the event
include Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, Mayor Greg Fischer, Louisville Metro Council
President Jim King, Jefferson Circuit Clerk David Nicholson and Jefferson
County Property Valuation Administrator Tony Lindauer.”

There
will be door prizes and a 32” flat screen television giveaway at the end of the
night. Proceeds from the Dainty Contest benefit The Little Sisters of the Poor.

5 comments:

Where did the word dainty come from? As a kid I played the same game but the name of the game was Klimpi. I'd love to know the origin of dainty. It doesn't sound like a German name. Can anyone help? helenvtopor@gmail.coj